Anybody can't....
Hi,
I was marking up some copy earlier, and came across the sentence "Any third party including the server can't decrypt the messages". This sounds awful to me (as a native English speaker from England), but I'm unable to identify what rule - if indeed any - is being broken here. I want to correct it to "No third party can decrypt the messages - not even the server", so it feels like there must be a rule or convention of some sort that requires the negation to be on the noun rather than on the verb in this context.
Can anyone shed any light on this?
Top answer
com/dictionary/english/any You use any in statements with negative meaning to indicate that no thing or person of a particular type exists, is present, or is involved in a situation. So it is like saying: No server can't decrypt the messages.. which is a double negative.
- com/dictionary/english/any You use any in statements with negative meaning to indicate that no thing or person of a particular type exists, is present, or is involved in a situation.
- So it is like saying: No server can't decrypt the messages..
- which is a double negative.
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Look at the first entry definition here: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/any
You use any in statements with negative meaning to indicate that no thing or person of a particular type exists, is present, or is involved in a situation.
So it is like s
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